My focus shifted from the cracks in the pavement to my surroundings, and suddenly, everything felt suspicious. Every parked car looked like it might hide a lurking biker dude waiting to return for round two.
As I walked faster down the sidewalk, my attention shifted from imaginary biker to the town itself.
Where there used to be empty lots and run-down buildings, shiny new shops had sprouted up. Sign boards flickered above cafés, trendy boutiques displayed overpriced clothes, and a hipster bakery advertised as 'Ace's Donuts', like it was a new religion. When did all of this happen? Did my town join the cool kids while I kept pulling for Raiden Shogun?
Just as I was marveling at how out of place I felt, a mouth-watering aroma wafted right under my nose, as if a succubus was seducing her prey. Before I knew it, my feet were already on autopilot, carrying me straight toward the source of that heavenly smell.
I stopped dead in my tracks.
A ramen shop?!
Steam blasting out the windows like it was straight-up a summoning jutsu, drawing me in with promises of salvation in a bowl.
Like an NTR female protagonist, I wanted to resist. But, my body betrayed me as my hands pushed the door opened. Bell above the entrance, jiggled as if I entered a slice-of-life anime.
Then I saw the sign… and bro, I swear my soul left the body.
No freaking way. This was the SAME ramen shop I'd been ordering from online for weeks. All this time… it was literally down the street while I was roleplaying a shut-in?
"Peak clown moment"
Who said that?
"I am the narrator."
What! But this is my story and I have been narrating it for the past one and half chapter. Where were you?
"Playing Gacha"
Make sense
Inside, it was chaos in 4K, people slurping noodles like their lives depended on it, bowls clinking like a Final Fantasy soundtrack, and that broth smell? Peak anime vibes.
I fumbled my way to the only empty seat, right between two regulars. They were slurping ramen like vampires sucking blood in a horror novel. Sitting there, between the two ramen devourers, I awkwardly flipped the menu open, pretending to know what I was doing.
"So, I told him the new engine would cost at least thirty thousand" the guy sitting at my right, said with a low tone.
"Thirty thousand? Man, that's cheap for what you're getting. The torque alone—" the other dude replied, all while his chopsticks darted into his bowl like it was running for Olympics.
These dudes were deep in conversation, and I had unknowingly sandwiched myself right into the middle of their discussion like an awkward punctuation mark.
They kept chatting over me, passing words back and forth like I was some sort of invisible partition between their mechanic debate. Every time one of them slurped their noodles, the sound echoed right in my ears.
Meanwhile, I was still struggling to figure out what the heck tonkotsu even meant.
To be honest, I had no intention of reading it.
I mean, who actually looks at the names when ordering food online? It's always the same…just scroll, click the picture that looks the least questionable, done. But ordering in person? That's a whole different beast. It's as if I am performing an open-heart surgery…. Not that I have performed one ever.
The waiter stood there, waiting patiently as my mind glitched to remember the name of the ramen I'd been ordering daily. I glanced at the menu, trying to act like I was deeply studying it, when in reality, I was just stalling for time, to look just a little cool.
Finally, I blurted, "I'll have the, uh… tonkotsu ramen," while pointing at the menu like it was a complex math equation I just solved. The waiter nodded and noted that down.
I sat there still pretending to read the menu, feeling like I was at a family dinner where everyone knew the inside jokes except me.
The conversation continued as if I was part of the furniture.
"You ever try swapping the suspension on one of those?"
"Pfft, every chance I get, man. It's all about the balance."
I didn't know why, but I had a sudden urge to sniff out a nervous chuckle. And I did exactly that.
Both of them froze, their chopsticks suspended mid-air like I'd just broken some unspoken ramen shop rule. Slowly, their heads turned toward me, like I spoiled them the ending of 'One piece'. We all locked eyes for a moment that felt like a year. I could practically hear the judgment in their silence.
[CONGRATULATIONS! YOUR AWKWARD CHUCKLE HAS REACHED LEVEL 69]
Wait I thought you were supposed to be the narrator.. not a power fantasy system!
[NOTICE: I DIED AND REINCARNATED INTO A SYSTEM]
What is this! Some Isakei?!
Without a word, they exchanged a look, as if mentally agreeing to finish their noodles at the speed of light.
"Fire breathing 9th form: Ramenification" They uttered in a synchronized tone and attacked their bowls with the precision of a demon slayer, slurping furiously as if the sooner they left the better.
In record time, they paid, stood up, and shuffled out of the shop. I sat there, staring at the empty stools on either side, wondering if I'd just accidentally cleared the place with nothing but a nervous laugh. Well it was good for me, the less people near me the better.
[NOTICE: THAT KIND OF MINDSET IS WHAT MAKES YOU AN UNAPPROACHABLE BRICK]
[NEW TITLE UNLOCKED: UNAPPROACHABLE BRICK LORD]
After a few minutes, the waiter came back and placed a bowl of tonkotsu ramen in front of me. I felt my stomach tighten in anticipation. The rich aroma of the broth was driving me crazy. The surface looked delicious with a glossy layer of oil, the creamy broth swirling around thinly sliced pork and perfectly half-boiled eggs.
I picked up my chopsticks and lifted the first few strands of noodles, slurping them up. The taste was familiar yet different, almost surreal. I had eaten this same dish countless times at home by ordering online from this very shop. But here, in the bustling atmosphere of the restaurant, the flavors felt more alive and rich.
Is this how it feels eating out?
"Excuse me. I'm terribly sorry, but I mistakenly served you shoyu ramen instead of tonkotsu. My deepest apologies." The waiter bowed deeply.
I froze, chopsticks halfway to my mouth, as the realization hit me. It wasn't the atmosphere or some magical transformation of flavor. I was actually eating a completely different dish.
TO BE CONTINUED